Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The next day Seong Jihan was preparing to participate in the government-sponsored auction.

The auction would take place on the 2nd floor of the Sword Palace in the event hall of the huge, mixed-use building.

"Uncle, are you ready?"

Saeah was standing before the penthouse's dressing room, holding a huge camera.

It looked like an expensive camera. She probably bought it in the past to film the Sword King.

"I'm almost done, but are you already shooting?"

"Yes. I was just checking if it was working well." Saeah waved her hand before the camera.

"Hello, everyone~ It's Saeah~ Can you see me?"

Then she checked the messages on her smartphone.

- Yes. It looks good!

- The niece is the best.

- She's still in high school. Everyone, be careful what you say.

- That makes it better.

- Mr. Police Officer! Over here!

Most of the viewer's responses were positive, but...

- A traitor's daughter...

- Ms. Yoon! You shouldn't be with the guy who broke the Sword King's symbol!

- Who does he think he is to sell the Sword King's connector?! Ms. Yoon! You must stop him!

There were also some malicious messages.

'It seems like it's working well...'

Saeah put her smartphone into her pocket and grabbed the camera again.

"Alright, alright. As you all know, today is the auction day!"

"Alright. As everyone knows, today's the auction day!"

"You're even making commentaries now."

"Hehe of course. I'm also a camerawoman, after all! Besides, I'm the one who selected the auction items, so I have a significant stake in this broadcast!"

The camera closed in on Jihan.

"Uncle, who always wears tracksuits, has dressed up nicely today. I can't believe my uncle is wearing a suit. I think that it's the first time since I was born!"

"Is that so?" Jihan put on his tie while chuckling.

He was 27 years old at the moment and had spent most of his life gambling and lazing around home, so he'd never had to wear a suit.

"But why are you so good at putting on a tie? Have you been practicing?"

"Do I look like a kid to you?"

Actually, he became proficient at doing it while living in the United States, since he'd had many formal dinners to attend.

Jihan frowned after putting on the suit.

"It's a bit small."

"Oh. Uncle, your shoulders aren't as narrow as before!"

"I didn't have narrow shoulders."

"Yes, you did."

At Saeah's sharp remark, Jihan shook his head, took off his jacket, and walked somewhere. Saeah followed him.

She lowered her voice after seeing where they were. "Ah, everyone... This is my dad's dressing room."

"He had broad shoulders, so they should fit."

"That's true... but I didn't think you would wear Dad's clothes."

"Clothes aren't to be blamed, right?" After saying that, Jihan took the jacket of his brother-in-law, Yoon Saejin.

Saeah, who was quietly filming, whispered to the camera as if she'd remembered something. "Ah, now that I think about it... While picking items for the auction, I also came to this room. Dad's a watch maniac, so he had many expensive watches."

Watches?

Jihan listened to her.

"I was thinking that, if there were any left, I'd put them up for auction or donate them."

She made a zero with her fingers in front of the camera.

"Woah! There weren't any watches left!"

He even took those? Jihan laughed in disbelief.

"Not only that, but all the rings and necklaces even disappeared, including the couple rings he'd matched with Mom."

"Really...?"

"Isn't he amazing? He left his daughter behind, but he took all of his possessions without leaving anything. Dad's truly meticulous."

Jihan quickly approached her after her sarcastic comment.

Her feelings were understandable, but if she continued, the chat would surely explode.

'Saeah shouldn't be drawing the Sword King's fans' attention already.'

"Saeah, let's go."

"Okay, Uncle."

Jihan took the private elevator with Yoon Saeah and went down.

'Now that I think about it, it's the first time I've come out of the penthouse.'

He'd been living a secluded life.

While he was thinking that he should go outside more often...

"Uncle, we're here."

"Okay."

Jihan entered the event hall on the 2nd floor.

* * *

The event hall, which had been transformed into an auction house, was filled with reporters.

Click! Click!

"Mr. Seong! Mr. Seong!"

"What's the purpose of today's auction?"

"Isn't selling the Sword King's belongings an official statement that he won't return?"

Even though the government officials were blocking the reporters, countless flashes flickered toward Jihan and Saeah.

Jihan had asked that the auction be covered only on his channel, so the reporters couldn't get inside, which was why they were trying their best to approach them.

But since Jihan just gave them a cold look, they changed their target to Saeah.

"Ms. Yoon! Ms. Yoon!"

"People are wondering why you've decided to donate the building."

"There are many people that think that it's because of your uncle Jihan's influence!"

"Your relatives from your paternal side are asking you to pick up the phone...! They say that Mr. Seong is a scammer!"

Even though Jihan was there, the reporters still dared to say such a thing.

Maybe it was because he was going to monopolize the broadcast of the auction, but the reporters didn't have positive opinions of Jihan.

"Uncle, a scammer? Don't say nonsense!"

"Ignore them."

As Saeah got angry, Jihan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and moved her away. Giving them a response would only make them more excited.

"Those people, damn it. It's been a while since they were cut off, yet..."

Jihan knew who Saeah was complaining about. Sword King Yoon Saejin's relatives.

To be precise, they were Yoon Sejin's younger siblings.

'They were cut off after committing fraud in his name.'

After enduring as much as possible, Saejin exploded and made a press conference to say he would cut his ties with them, and after Yoon Saejin went to Japan, they tried to get close to Saeah to extract money from her in any way possible.

'After the government took the building, they were at the forefront of the attacks toward Saejin and Saeah.'

The relatives abandoned their lingering attachment to Saeah after the building was confiscated by the state, and they even started appearing on gossip TV programs as panel members to criticize the traitor Sword King and his daughter.

"Mr. Seong! Please, wait!"

"Ms. Yoon! An interview, please...!"

Jihan ignored the reporters and entered the auction site.

"Ms. Yoon, we'll be in charge of filming. Could you give us the camera?"

"Ah, yes. Of course."

As soon as they entered the event hall, the Battle Net Administration Office's Manager, Park Yoonsik, walked toward them.

Saeah had to participate instead of film.

Jihan walked toward Yoonsik and shook hands.

"It's been a while, Manager Park."

"Yes, you must have had a hard time on the way here, Jihan."

"Not at all. We were upstairs, after all."

"Haha. The reporters were a bit aggressive, weren't they?"

"It was nothing. Thanks to the government blocking them, I was able to walk comfortably."

Park Yoonsik looked at Jihan with curiosity.

'I felt it before... but he's completely different now. He doesn't seem nervous at all.'

Anyone would be slightly taken aback when so many reporters were charging at them, but Jihan was completely unflustered.

"Now, please, come this way. I'll take the guests, so you keep filming with this camera."

"Understood, Manager."

Yoonsik handed the camera to a staff member and guided Jihan and Saeah himself.

The temporary auction house was mostly empty, and all of the items that would be auctioned off were lined up on the stage.

Below that, 12 large, round tables were set up with people sitting around them, and in the center of each table was a name tag indicating their affiliation.

Most of them were from the top 10 guilds, but there was a different table at the far right end.

The name tag for the table where only three people were sitting was different from the rest.

[Japanese Embassy]

They weren't Korean, but they were Japanese people.

Jihan smirked after seeing that.

'They came.'

The people who would pay the most for the items were there.

"Well... Since the sellers are here, let's start the auction."

As Jihan and Saeah sat down, the auctioneer began talking.

"There are three items that will be put up for auction."

In reality, Jihan originally planned to sell only Yoon Saejin's Battle Net connector, but there were more things that Saeah came up with as he was training.

First, Yoon Saejin's Battle Net connector...Second, an external hard drive with the backup data for the Battle Net connector...And third, an analysis of East Asia's and Korea's top players.

When the host explained the three items, the representatives of the top 10 guilds showed interest.

"Hmm."

"The Sword King's data analysis sounds good."

"The Battle Net information analysis company he had was quite good."

"Was that company sold to the USA?"

"Yes. I felt uneasy from the moment the Sword King sold the USA the information analysis company that had been supporting him... I never thought things would turn out like this."

The representatives talked to each other and seemed interested in the data.

The host observed their reactions for a moment and then resumed. "Well, then let's resume the auction. The first item that will come out is—"

"Wait. Wait a moment!"

"Hmm...?"

On the far right side, a middle-aged bald man with a sharp mustache got up from the Japanese Embassy's table.

"What can I do for you? If it's regarding the auction, please state your affiliation and name."

In response to the host's question, he answered in a light tone.

"Haha, yes. I'm Takeda Kazuo, recruitment manager of Japan's Neo Self-Defense Force.

"You're from the... Neo Self-Defense Force?"

"Yes."

The host, being Korean, didn't sound pleased, but Takeda began to talk in fluent Korean.

"Yes. We have a proposal to make to Mr. Seong and Ms. Yoon."

The host gave Jihan a questioning look; Jihan nodded.

"Yes?"

"We're going to buy all three for 50 billion yen."

"50 billion... yen?"

"Yes. We're offering about 500 million USD."

The auction house suddenly became noisy.

Buying all of those items for 500 million?

It was a huge amount of money that far exceeded the price the participants had thought of. It was something that they wouldn't even dare to consider.

"However..." Takeda kept talking while rubbing his hands and looking at Jihan, his gaze firmly set.

"I would like to have a private conversation with Mr. Seong and Ms. Yoon."